Grainger, North America's leading broad line distributor of facilities maintenance products, on June 19 announced it plans to become a 53 percent majority owner of MonotaRO, a direct marketer of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies in Japan. Grainger expects to invest approximately $4 million through a tender offer bid process later this summer.
Established in 2000 in Osaka, MonotaRO started as a joint venture company between Grainger and Sumitomo Corporation supplying MRO products in Japan. MonotaRO has successfully innovated in the Japanese MRO market, the second-largest industrial market in the world, offering more than 110,000 products to more than 320,000 customers. In 2008, MonotaRO had revenues of $136 million and operating earnings of $11 million.
"We are excited about the opportunity to increase our ownership of MonotaRO. The Japanese MRO market is estimated at $50 billion, and MonotaRO has been growing by helping thousands of small and mid-size businesses get the quality products they need to keep their facilities running," said Grainger's chairman, president and chief executive officer Jim Ryan. "This increased investment, along with our recent acquisition of Asia Pacific Brands India Private Limited demonstrates Grainger's commitment to grow its global presence. Our global supply chain scale and strong supplier relationships developed throughout Asia enable us to deliver what customers need. We plan to continue to pursue attractive opportunities in global markets."
